Dossier March 2013

The Church has always been aware that the distribution of land plays an important role in the struggle for justice and equality, particularly in rural societies. In 1997, the Pontifical Council for Justice and Peace issued an important document on land reform. It strongly criticized the accumulation of large stretches of land in the…

Those who want to lay their hands on land cover-up their real intentions with myths. These are some of the misleading arguments used to justify land grabbing. There is much unused or underused land in Africa.When you look down from a plane, you might think there is plenty of uncultivated land. On the ground,…

A fair distribution of resources is a question of justice, and a call for justice is at the heart of most religious traditions. Not only African spirituality but also biblical tradition, Christian social ethics, human rights pacts and international law can provide a framework to approach complex land issues and provide orientations to find just…

“One morning, in our village of Samana Dugu in Mali, some bulldozers appeared and started clearing the land. When we protested, the police came and began to beat us and many of us were arrested,” said Assame Sidibé, the community leader. “Our local politician arrived later and told us that a foreign company got the…